Today the Evening Gazette launches a major new campaign - Pride In Our Process Industry.

Part of the Tees Pride campaign, it will lift the lid on this essential industrial sector.

In the weeks and months to come we'll be looking at the major players making their mark, new industries and investment shaping the future, and take a closer look at the opportunities available for the new generation entering the profession.

Karen McLauchlan looks at why the process industry is so important to the Tees Valley.

The process industry is the beating heart of business in the Tees Valley.

It makes up a quarter of the region's economy, employs tens of thousands of staff and has secured more than #1.5bn of investment in the past few years.

It is also a formidable blend of both old and new skills - traditional engineering and chemical production combined with hi-tech research and development of new industries.

We are setting the pace in the field of renewable energy.

Ensus recently secured funding for a #250m bioethanol facility at Wilton and the UK's biggest biofuels plant is already up and running on Teesside, thanks to Biofuels Corporation's site at Seal Sands.

NEPIC, the North East Process Industry Cluster, hopes to expand the North-east's chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors by #5bn in the next five to 10 years - a move that could create thousands of jobs.

Stan Higgins, chief executive of NEPIC, said: "The process industry is absolutely vital to the North-east.

"In the Tees Valley it employs 14,000 people, represents 25% of the region's economy and achieves more than #5bn of sales every year."

And from car bumpers and plastic baths to fabric softener and soap - all can be produced thanks to the people, plants and products of Tees Valley's process industry.

"From the moment you wake up in the morning you're benefiting from the process industry," added Dr Higgins. "It's the soap you wash with, the liquids that cleaned and softened your clothes, the preservative in jam and bread you have for breakfast and the fuel in your car - and that's all before you've even got to work!"

The process industry has been through a period of dramatic change in the last decade.

It was once dominated by industrial giant ICI, which at its peak had more than 30,000 Teesside workers. Today it has only 100 Teesside staff working in research and development

Yet, while we have witnessed the demise of ICI, the process industry has weathered the storm with great success - and continues to thrive.

And at the entrance to key chemical sites such as Wilton, the blue and white ICI roundel has been replaced by the logos of many other major global players.

NEPIC, along with partner organisations regional development agency One NorthEast, Renew Tees Valley and Tees Valley Regeneration, is in discussions with companies on more than 50 projects.

"About 80% of these could come to the Tees Valley," said Dr Higgins, "representing investment of more than #5bn.

"This is likely to create somewhere near 20,000 new jobs - plus thousands more in the construction phase, if the projects come to fruition."

Recruiting people and attracting young people into the sector is also essential.

He said: "The process industry is one that is constantly re-inventing itself and changing direction."

The Centre for Process Innovation at Wilton is at the heart of some of the most progressive research and development.

It is leading the #5m national industrial biotechnology facility (NIBF) which will catapult the North to the forefront of this field in the UK.

It has also developed the #1.5m Fuel Cell Application Facility at Wilton to push forward green energy schemes.

Plus CPI is behind barrier-breaking work such as making paper-thin roll-up TV screens a reality thanks to its Flexible Electronics Facility.

Nigel Perry, CPI chief executive, said: "We have much to be proud of in the Tees Valley and our process industry provides wealth in jobs not just for the Valley but for the whole of the UK."

Business leaders have been quick to back the Pride In Our Process Industry campaign.

Sarah Green, regional director, Confederation of British Industry North-east, said: "The process industry is key jewel in the region's crown, it is a sector within which the Tees Valley and the wider North-east can compete on a global scale based on world class expertise.

"The growth opportunities for the sector are also huge and can feed economic development around the whole of the North-east.

"We are delighted to support any campaign which highlights the importance of the process industry and can support its success."

Steve Elliott, chief executive of the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), has also paid tribute to the achievements of chemical and process businesses in the region.

"The region's success at attracting inward investment is second to none," he said. "The work NEPIC and businesses operating in this area do in creating the right climate for investment is an excellent example of what can be achieved with the right level of co-operation and leadership."

The process industry involves any company which processes raw materials from the ground into ingredients for products used in every day life.

The North-east process industry directly employs 34,000 people - 14,000 of them on Teesside.

A further 280,000 are indirectly employed by the sector in the region.

The industry accounts for a quarter of the region's economy.

The North-east is home to almost two-thirds of the UK's petrochemicals industry and 35% of the UK's pharmaceutical industry.

The process industry creates #9bn of sales every year in the North-east - 60% of that is from Teesside.

There are more than 200 chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the North-east.

In the last four years the process industry has seen around #1.5bn of investment - including six new pharmaceutical plants, two major biofuels investments and several chemical plant upgrades. This investment has created 2,000 jobs.

Plastics for baths, sinks and signs, skin creams and shampoos and even chocolate that melts in the mouth can be made thanks to Teesside's process industry.

It's hoped the industry can grow by a further #5bn in the coming years.